Wantage is the 66th Cleverest Constituency in the country
Out of 628 constituencies studied by Union of College Lecturers only 65 had a higher proportion of people with degrees than Wantage. Half of these are in London (Richmond Park is the cleverest). Over 40% of people in Wantage have a degree. We beat most of the local competition, being cleverer than Henley, Banbury, Witney, Newbury, Buckingham and Oxford East. Unfortunately Doctor Harris MP and OxfordUniversity managed to beat us by 1%.
Only 4.95% of us have no qualifications, putting us happily in the 5% cleverest (or least stupid) constituencies in the country.
However, there are some worrying statistics for the country as a whole. In 60 constituencies more than a fifth of people had no qualifications at all, yet if you hop across a boundary over 3 fifths of people have university degrees. This inequality of opportunity is not acceptable.
Posted on 24 October 2009 by Ed Vaizey
Live music in the constituency
I took part in a dbetae on the licensing laws in Parliament last week. The big issue is whether to exempt small venues from the need for a licence, to encourage live music. It gave me an opportunity to mention just some of the fantastic musical happenings in the constituency...
"In Faringdon, in the west of the constituency, we have the Faringdon arts festival, which I open every year. It holds a live performance in Faringdon’s historic market square with a range of bands whose names I cannot remember. I know, however, that one of the guitarists is a producer on GMTV. The festival has been organised for several years by an excellent local resident, David Reynolds.
Moving over to Wantage and Grove, we have the Wantage silver band. It is important in this debate to emphasise that brass bands are not simply a province of the north, and we have our own excellent brass bands in the south, which are campaigning to raise funds for their own homes. If any Members want to see me afterwards and write me a cheque, that would be most welcome. The Didcot arts centre was recently opened by a Conservative council in south Oxfordshire and is fast becoming a very important venue for live music. There is also the unsurpassable Wallingford blues and beer festival, in the east of my constituency on the banks of the River Thames. There is also the very well known Truck music festival, held in Steventon on Europe’s largest village green.
We are awash with talented and world-famous musicians: Sandy Shaw; Brian Eno, and Radiohead have their offices in Sutton Courtenay. My hon. Friend the Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford can come and meet them. We also have Whispering Bob Harris and Mark, the keyboard player from Marillion. To cover every base, I should not omit sport: I am the president of Didcot Town football club, so I am well aware of its sporting difficulties, and I am also aware that, as a Member of this House, one should never accept a vice-chairmanship or a vice-presidency; always go for the top."
Posted on 24 October 2009 by Ed Vaizey
Poppy Appeal
I launched the Poppy Appeal for oxfordshire this year in Wallingford, and made a donation from the funds I have raised for charity since becoming an MP. I will be attending the Remembrance Day Parades at Wallingford and Didcot on Remembrance Sunday this year. It is always a very moving occasion, and most people have noted that the crowds swell each year. This is not surprising given the prominence that the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken. But it is nonetheless very welcome.
As the MP for Wantage I am conscious of the huge contribution local people are making to the conflicts. Although RAF Benson is not in the constituency it is on the doorstep, and many of its personnel live in Wallingford and Cholsey. Like the Rifles, RAF Benson enjoys the freedom of the town. I have visited Benson, and been taken up in a Merlin, which is one of the most modern helicopters available. In this respect at least, our troops are well provided for. It is home to Flt Lt Michelle Goodman, the first woman to win the Distinguished Flying Cross. In Didcot, we have Vauxhall Barracks, which I have also visited, home to the bomb disposal team, who sadly lost Warrant officer Gary O’Donnell earlier in the year. Grove resident Claire Griffiths received national prominence when as staff sergeant she was the only woman in Afghanistan to drive an armoured vehicle in combat conditions. In Abingdon, we have Dalton Barracks which will become part of the constituency at the general election, and which I have recently visited. And in Shrivenham we have the Defence College, effectively the "post-graduate" university of the armed forces, which I have been to on several occasions. Most poignantly of all, every serviceman and woman who is returned from Afghanistan travels along the A420 on their way to the John Radcliffe. Many members of the Royal British Legion stand salute in Watchfield and on the A420 at Faringdon, and I have been privileged to stand with them on several occasions.
In Parliament I am a member of the Armed Forces Parliamentary scheme, which means that I spend time with the Royal Marines and try and get a better understanding of the pressures our Forces face. I have visited them at their headquarters, and in Afghanistan and the Falklands.
This is not the right place to discuss the politics of the conflicts our armed forces are involved in, simply to take the opportunity to salute them and pay tribute to some of the bravest men and women in our country. It is a privilege to know just a few of them.
Posted on 24 October 2009 by Ed Vaizey
Wantage Counselling Service
I went to meet the Wantage Counselling Service on Friday. They are up in arms about another bonkers Government scheme to regulate counselling. On the face of it it could seem sensible, except that counselling, like law and accountancy, already has a successful self-regulatory scheme in place. The Government of course is desperate to get its hands on the scheme. It has asked the Health Professions Council to regulate the profession (and it is a profession, it takes 5 years to qualify). This means that counsellors will have to show they have a hygeine system in place, for example. ie a scheme designed for health professions working in a health environment will be imposed on a completely different environment. Bonkers, unless you work in Whitehall, in which case it no doubt seems eminently sensible...
Posted on 3 October 2009 by Ed Vaizey
The Royal British Legion
I got a briefing this week from the Royal British Legion and their work in Oxfordshire. They raise about £1 million a year, and give away about £400,000 in different kinds of welfare grants. They deal with a bout a thousand cases a year, and estimate their case load has increased ten-fold in the last ten years - partly because of an ageing population, partly because society has generally become more demanding and partly of course because of the recent conflicts.
Ox & Bucks have 13,000 members and 94 branches (my constituency is technically in Berkshire - the Legion and the Church still follow pre-1974 boundaries). Nationally there are 400,000 members, and 10 and a half million people are eligible for assistance from the Legion - having either served in the armed forces, or related as a spouse or dependant - so one in 6 of the population. 85% of those born before 1940 are eligible.
It goes without saying that this is a pretty big constituency, and rams home the point that politicians should take defence issues seriously. Woe betide those who get on the wrong side of the argument.
What also struck me is that this is a pretty good model for welfare delivery - people on the ground providing bespoke help and support for those in genuine need, rather than a centralised tick box system which encourages cheating and dependency.
Posted on 3 October 2009 by Ed Vaizey
Thong Rangers - Completely Insane?
I stopped off in Didcot today to meet my old friends the Thong Rangers. So far they have pulled a monster truck, an Asda lorry and a tank around Didcot, and even from Didcot to Abingdon. Today, they are running for 12 hours, carrying 85 lb concrete kerb stones. I tried one 150 metre jaunt and collapsed. As usual, it is all in a great cause to raise money for a Didcot kid with autism, and to raise awareness of autism.
These people are pretty amazing. They devote huge amounts of time to fund raising, exert themselves, and though they are covered in tatoos (some of them) , are very hairy, and are wearing just thongs, you couldn't meet a nicer bunch. Makes me feel humble just to know them. So, no, not completely insane, just very impressive.
Posted on 3 October 2009 by Ed Vaizey